The status of Rigby was

last posted on 10/31/23 by

Almost Home Animal Rescue

Male Dog, Mastiff

Mastiff / Chow Chow / Mixed (Short Coat)

Description:

Almost Home believes that every animal deserves a loving home regardless of appearance, age, or physical limitation. We have come together to give animals in need the safe and happy life they all deserve. Almost Home Animal Rescue believes that no animal is expendable. Adopting a friend:The animals, lucky enough to find refuge with Almost Home, are all in loving foster homes. If you are interested in the possibility of giving one of the animals a new lease on life, please contact us. The contact information is listed at the end of each biography. What you need to do to adopt:If you would like to adopt a pet in need from Almost Home, basically, an application must be filled out. We will check two personal references and a vet reference. If you are approved for adoption, there is a trial period of about one week to make sure this is the animal for you and you are the person for the animal. Along with the trial period, a contract must be signed that basically states that if ever you cannot keep the animal that you must return the animal to Almost Home. Last but not least, a home check will be done. Meet & Greets:An approved application is required. This does not mean that you have to adopt but that you are approved to do so if everything works out. Since we are foster based, this limits the amount of people coming to our homes. *Due to rescuer being very ill, all her dogs are in desperate need!!! Rigby is a large male (100lb) mastiff chow mix. Get your tissues ready for this one. “Riggs” was rescued from animal control and his history is unfortunately unknown due to uncooperative staff members at that specific animal control facility. But not to worry! We sure do know a lot about this big handsome boy! Rigby is one of the most intelligent dogs we’ve ever encountered. He deeply enjoys sharpening his “sit, shake, up, and lay down” skills! Rigs has never been introduced to other dogs due to his massive size and a lack of confidence that if something did happen, it would be very difficult to break up that dog altercation. Unfortunately, this means that Riggs can only go to homes with no other dogs. Rigby is a calm collected gentleman that only ever barks at strange noises, and new guests outside of his reach, like most dogs! We suspect that he used to be a junkyard dog because of his calculated, large and in charge temperament. He is still a very loving teddy bear though! Because of the very traumatic life that Riggs has lived, he used to suffer from resource guarding issues. Do to this, we recommend that he only go to homes with absolutely no children. This means that if he is eating or playing with something and you try to take it from him, he can get very defensive and upset. He remembers a life where he had nothing, and it’s very difficult for dogs to understand that now they do not have to fight for their food! We don’t blame him a bit! Rigby has a calm but curious temperament, we predict that he would be best buddies with any cat! The most important thing to take into account when it comes to this big hunk is that he must never be restrained. This means no reaching over his body, no hugging him, and no grabbing and holding his paws or any part of his body for that matter. We suspect that whoever hurt this darling boy, must have been an evil person because of how it has effected Rigby even today. We have found that desensitizing exercises have helped ease his worries that we will not harm him again or try to restrain him. We would let him out of his stall to run while we cleaned his room for him, but before he was able to jet off, we would go through a series of “checks” in which we made a game out of! First, touching and scratching his head and ears, then touching and scratching his sides and underarms (gently) then his butt...since he loves butt scratches so much! This game has turned his body desensitization routine into a fun game that he is now excited to play with us! Riggs is not afraid of strangers or men and LOVES to be talked to! There are quite a few dogs out there that have been THROUGH IT but this handsome gentlemen has too and has been patiently waiting for his forever home *Guest Posting If you would like to meet your new best friend, contact the Adoption Coordinator at [email protected] or 865-236-0830. To fill out an application, go to www.almosthometn.org. If you can't get it to work, tell us and we will email it to you. Adoption fee $150ADOPTION FEE: The adoption fee for a cat is $85. The adoption fee for a kitten is $100. The adoption fee does include the kittens being fixed and their rabies shot when they are old enough through one of our local vets. The adoption fee for a dog is $200. The adoption fee for a puppy is $250. The adoption fee does include the puppies being fixed and their rabies shot when they are old enough through one of our local vets. Mature pet adoption fees are sometimes reduced. The adoption fee for pure bred dogs and cats will vary due to health and age of pet. This helps support our ill animals and our mutts that get left in the system longer. We do reserve the right to change the fees higher or lower due to the circumstance of the animal but what was stated above are the usual adoption fees. Microchipped pets will have a higher adoption fee. Our adoption fees do not cover the cost of the vetting and care the animal has received with us and if it ever does, the money just goes back it to helping other animals in need.